LIRR back on track after a tough evening

Spokesman Sal Arena says everything was up and running by 5 a.m. Thursday except for the Long Beach branch.

The system was down completely from around 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Police had to close Penn Station due to overcrowding. Some people were stuck for up to 90 minutes on trains that weren’t going anywhere. The railroad tries to bring those trains to a station in case people want to get out.

The railroad is still using its modified storm schedule.

Two of the four East River tunnels that the LIRR uses have been out of commission since Sandy.

That reduces the number of trains that can run. And that leads to crowding.